French President Jacques Chirac's trip this week to Beijing will bring into sharp focus the battle between the world's biggest aircraft makers, Europe's Airbus and Boeing of the US, for the prized Chinese market.
Airbus Industrie, based in southwestern France, is hoping for an order of a dozen planes to emerge from the trip, French presidential sources said.
China could become the 14th customer for Airbus's future A380, buying five to 10 of the double-decker superjumbos, which could be delivered before the Olympic Games are held in Beijing in 2008.
Such a purchase would not only boost Airbus's already impressive A380 orders book, now at 129 firm orders, but would also give the European planemaker a symbolic and commercial lead over its US rival in the much sought-after Chinese market.
"In terms of orders over the past three years, the two companies are equal," said Philippe Gassmann, the head of technology at the French economic mission in Beijing.
Boeing, which for the first time was last year knocked out of pole position by Airbus for sales of planes with more than 100 seats, has not yet received any Chinese orders for its next-generation 7E7 Dreamliner jet.
The 7E7 is a medium-haul, fuel-efficient model that the US firm says is the future of civil aviation. Airbus, in contrast, is betting its future on the long-haul A380.
Chirac, who will be in China from Oct. 8 to Oct. 12, will be accompanied by a bevy of French business leaders hoping to clinch deals in areas ranging from high-speed rail links to the construction of nuclear reactors.
But the competition is particularly intense for the Chinese market because the stakes are so high.
The market will require over the next two decades 1,295 planes, according to the airplane maker China Aviation Industry Corporation (AVIC 1). Boeing estimates it at 2,127 and Airbus at 1,600 aircraft, according to the French economic mission.
These giddying estimates are based on strong growth by the three main Chinese airlines -- Beijing-based Air China, China Eastern in Shanghai, and China Southern based in Guangzhou -- but also on expansion at smaller Chinese companies such as Hainan Airlines, Shanghai Airlines, Xiamen Airlines and China Yunnan.
They are also based on liberalization of the sector as well as on the expectation that Chinese companies will sign up to commercial alliances with the major international airlines.
"Eastern and Southern are both already listed" on the stock market, Gassmann said. "As for Air China, it wants to be listed soon."
Since 2002 legislation allows foreign investors to acquire up to 49 percent of a Chinese company's capital, with no one outsider taking more than 25 percent of the company.
"Each of the three companies is aiming to join an international [airline] alliance," Gassmann added. "And each international alliance is also trying to get a foothold in China."
China Southern was the first to sign such a deal, allowing it to join in 2005 the Skyteam alliance that includes Air France and the US carrier Delta Airlines.
To achieve their aims in China, Airbus and Boeing are using the same methods -- both are lobbying intensely and both are signing industrial partnership deals with Chinese companies.
Airbus said in June that parts of the landing gear for the A380 would be made in China, as would certain doors to be made for the cargo versions of the A330 and A340 planes.
Boeing for its part has selected two Chinese parts suppliers for its future 7E7 in contracts believed to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
FREEDOM OF NAVIGATION: The UK would continue to reinforce ties with Taiwan ‘in a wide range of areas’ as a part of a ‘strong unofficial relationship,’ a paper said The UK plans to conduct more freedom of navigation operations in the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea, British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs David Lammy told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. British Member of Parliament Desmond Swayne said that the Royal Navy’s HMS Spey had passed through the Taiwan Strait “in pursuit of vital international freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.” Swayne asked Lammy whether he agreed that it was “proper and lawful” to do so, and if the UK would continue to carry out similar operations. Lammy replied “yes” to both questions. The
‘OF COURSE A COUNTRY’: The president outlined that Taiwan has all the necessary features of a nation, including citizens, land, government and sovereignty President William Lai (賴清德) discussed the meaning of “nation” during a speech in New Taipei City last night, emphasizing that Taiwan is a country as he condemned China’s misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758. The speech was the first in a series of 10 that Lai is scheduled to give across Taiwan. It is the responsibility of Taiwanese citizens to stand united to defend their national sovereignty, democracy, liberty, way of life and the future of the next generation, Lai said. This is the most important legacy the people of this era could pass on to future generations, he said. Lai went on to discuss
MISSION: The Indo-Pacific region is ‘the priority theater,’ where the task of deterrence extends across the entire region, including Taiwan, the US Pacific Fleet commander said The US Navy’s “mission of deterrence” in the Indo-Pacific theater applies to Taiwan, Pacific Fleet Commander Admiral Stephen Koehler told the South China Sea Conference on Tuesday. The conference, organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), is an international platform for senior officials and experts from countries with security interests in the region. “The Pacific Fleet’s mission is to deter aggression across the Western Pacific, together with our allies and partners, and to prevail in combat if necessary, Koehler said in the event’s keynote speech. “That mission of deterrence applies regionwide — including the South China Sea and Taiwan,” he
UNPRECEDENTED: In addition to the approved recall motions, cases such as Ma Wen-chun’s in Nantou are still under review, while others lack enough signatures The Central Election Commission (CEC) announced yesterday that a recall vote would take place on July 26, after it approved the first batch of recall motions targeting 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and Hsinchu Mayor Ann Kao (高虹安). Taiwan is in the midst of an unprecedented wave of mass recall campaigns, following a civil society push that echoed a call made by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) in January to initiate signature drives aimed at unseating KMT legislators. Under the Civil Servants Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法), Taiwanese can initiate a recall of district-elected lawmakers by collecting
RSS